Valeant stock surges 3% after psoriasis drug gets FDA approval

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. shares surged as much as 3.1% in pre-market trade Thursday after the company said its plaque psoriasis injection had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Siliq, which is intended for patients with moderate-to-severe iterations of the chronic skin condition who haven’t responded to other therapies, will have a “black box warning” about risks for patients with a history of suicidal thoughts or behavior, Valeant said. Valeant said it expects to begin sales and marketing for Siliq in the second half of 2017. AztraZeneca — which granted Valeant the right to develop and commercialize Siliq in most countries globally — will receive $130 million in a milestone payment, Dow Jones reports. Valeant shares have declined 5.6% over the last three months, compared with a 7.9% rise in the S&P 500 .

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From:: Stock Market News

Charter Communications loses 51,000 video customers, as Q4 earnings beat expectations

Charter Communications Inc. reported fourth quarter earnings on Thursday that were better than Wall Street expected. The cable company reported net income of $454 million or $1.67 per-share for the quarter, after a loss of $122 million, or $1.21 per share during the same period a year ago. Analysts tracked by FactSet expected earnings to be $1.05 per share. Revenue for the quarter hit $10.28 billion, up from $2.51 billion in the year-earlier period and above FactSet’s consensus of $10.23 billion. Charter said it added 345,000 total customers in the quarter, though on the video side Charter reported losing 51,000 customers. Charter shares were inactive in premarket trade, but have gained 74% in the trailing 12-month period, while the S&P 500 Index is up 24%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Mattress company Tempur Sealy’s profit and sales top estimates

Tempur Sealy International Inc. said Thursday it het income of $63.4 million, or $1.12 a share, in the fourth quarter, after a loss of $11.3 million, or a loss of 18 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.18, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.13. The mattress seller said sales rose 0.3% to $769.5 million, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $766 million. “Overall the worldwide markets for our products are solid and the Team remains focused on our long-term initiatives,” Chief Executive Scott Thompson said in a statement. Shares were not yet active premarket, but are down 18% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 25%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Avon Products profit falls short of estimates

Avon Products Inc. said Thursday it had a net loss of $10.7 million, or 4 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, narrower than the $333.4 million loss, or 76 cents a share, recorded in the year-earlier period. Excluding special charges, the direct seller of beauty products had adjusted per-share earnings of 1 cent, below the FactSet consensus of 9 cents. Revenue edged down to $1.57 billion from $1.61 billion, compared with a FactSet consensus of $1.61 billion. The company said it made good progress with a cost-cutting plan, exceeded its own cost targets and bolstering its balance sheet. The company is on track to deliver the $350 million in savings related to the plan over its three-year period. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are up 74% in the last 12 months, outperforming the S&P 500 has gained 25%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Wendy’s misses profit expectations but beats on sales, raises dividend

Wendy’s Co. reported fourth-quarter earnings that fell to $28.9 million, or 11 cents a share, from $85.9 million, or 31 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share slipped to 8 cents from 12 cents, missing the FactSet consensus of 9 cents. Revenue declined to $309.9 million from $464.4 million, but was above the FactSet consensus of $308.4 million. The decline in sales resulted primarily from the ownership of 522 less company-operated restaurants. Same-restaurant sales in North America rose 0.8% from a year ago, beating expectations of 0.5% growth. The fastfood company said it was increasing its quarterly dividend by 0.5 cents to 7 cents a share, and authorized a new $150 million stock buyback program. Looking ahead, Wendy’s expects 2017 North America same-restaurant sales growth of 2% to 3%. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has run up 19% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has climbed 7.9%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Avis Budget shares fall after earnings, revenue miss

Avis Budget Group Inc. shares declined in the extended session Wednesday after the car rental company’s quarterly earnings fell below Wall Street estimates. Avis shares fell 6.5% to $38 after hours. The company reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of 15 cents a share on revenue of $1.88 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated earnings of 17 cents a share on revenue of $1.97 billion. For 2017, Avis sees adjusted earnings of $3.05 to $3.75 on revenue of $8.8 billion to $8.95 billion. Analysts had estimated earnings of $3.46 a share on revenue of $9.01 billion.

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From:: Stock Market News

National MI’s New Business Slips, Book Expands

While there was a year-over-year rise in quarterly business at National Mortgage Insurance, a quarter-over-quarter decline occurred. The book of business grew.

Income at parent NMI Holdings Inc. prior to income taxes rose to $7 million during the three months ended Dec. 31, 2016, from $6 million the previous quarter.

Those details, along with other operational and financial results, were revealed by the the Emeryville, California-based firm in its fourth-quarter 2016 earnings report.


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From:: Financing